This invention relates generally to nuclear reactors and more particularly to a containment vessel for use in mobile nuclear reactor applications.
The use of nuclear reactors to provide power for mobile applications is not new, as illustrated by nuclear surface ships and nuclear submarines. However, with the recent dramatic increases in fuel oil costs, and the uncertain availability of such oil at any cost, the possibility of utilizing nuclear reactors to provide power for a wide range of applications is being increasingly investigated. Among the various possibilities being investigated is the use of nuclear power for mobile land-based power plants and for marine propulsion of high speed ships such as Surface Effect Ships, hydrofoils, Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull Ships, Air Cushion Vehicles, and other similar ships. These ships are characterized by the requirement of high power, for their high speed, and correspondingly high fuel consumption. Additionally, in order to store this fuel for long range operations, the vehicle size must be drastically increased, causing corresponding increases in vehicle costs. The development of lightweight nuclear propulsion power plants offers a way to achieve low fuel costs at high power operating over long ranges in relatively small vehicles, thereby making nuclear propulsion attractive for this type of application.
In the adaption of nuclear power for these ships, serious potential problems have been cited, among them being the confinement of the reactor system. In the design criteria for nuclear reactors are hypotetical accidents which the reactor must be able to withstand. One of these accidents for marine reactor applications is the possibility of a collision with another ship. In contrast to prior naval applications, the high speed ships are of a lightweight structure. As such, the high speed ships will afford scant protection for the nuclear reactor in the event of a bow-on collision. The prior art practice of installing shock-absorbing plates externally of the containment to cushion the shock is inapplicable to these lightweight ships; the postulated accident for these lightweight ships is that the colliding ship will cut through the high speed ship in which the reactor is installed. This type of collision would breach the containment of the prior art, resulting in an increased potential for inadvertent release of radioactive material to the environment, which must not be allowed to occur.